In New York, the COMEX May contract shot up 9.60 cents or by 2.5 percent to settle at $3.9210 per tonne, near the upper end of its $3.8285 to $3.9325 session range. Optionseller.com's Gross said the US and Chinese data were good pieces of news in a market that has lacked convincing news flows lately.
Copper has held in a wide band between the $8,100 and $8,800 per tonne levels ($3.70-$4 per lb) since late January - a range likely to remain in play as investors weigh the prospects of a slowdown in China against signs of improvement in the US economy.